Willy Porter

Willy Porter (2012)

Willy Porter (born October 4, 1964 in Mequon , Wisconsin ) is an American singer-songwriter with blues and rock influences .

Life

Porter learned to play the viola in his youth , but he was not disciplined enough to turn it into something promising. As an 18-year-old he was impressed by The Police and wanted to make similar music, which is why he formed a band with like-minded people and made his first musical experiences. He then devoted himself to expanding his guitar skills as an autodidact and found role models in z. B. Bruce Cockburn . At some point he also discovered Leo Kottke . He graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire , where the Seven Liberal Arts are taught, and graduated in 1989 in Psychology . During this time he became addicted to Michael Hedges ' guitar playing .

He then lived in Madison , Wisconsin. He began to perform with his own songs and spoken humorous interludes. Willy Porter's real career began in 1990, when he was still driving through the USA, Canada , Great Britain and mainland Europe in his own car and after performing street lectures and club appearances he sold his first self-published CD, The Trees Have Soul , out of the trunk . His almost constant companions were bassist Steve Kleiber and drummer John Calarco. With Angry Words from his second album Dog Eared Dream he achieved radio success in 1994/1995, which made him better known in an easier way. The BMG sub-label Private Records signed him and re-released Dog Eared Dream . From now on we went on trips by bus, and a violinist (Biff Uranus) and a keyboardist (David Adler) were taken along. Jürgen von der Lippe invited him to his game show Money or Love on December 16, 1995 . Before that, he gave a three-quarter hour sample of his solo skills in the BMG / Ariola canteen in Munich . The German parent company hoped in vain for a sure-fire success as a result of the attractive Saturday evening television minutes and word of mouth as a multiplier. In 1998, after the liquidation of Private Records , Porter joined Six Degrees in San Francisco . There he first published Falling Forward (1999), produced by multiple Grammy winner Neil Dorfsman ( Dire Straits , Sting ). The fourth album, simply titled Willy Porter , with guest contributions by Jethro Tull band boss Ian Anderson and the well-known bassist Tony Levin followed in 2001. He then toured with Paul Simon , Sting, Jeff Beck , Jethro Tull and Tori Amos . The live album High Wire Live , released in 2003, was co-produced by Grammy winner Ben Wisch ( Marc Cohn , Shawn Colvin , Jonatha Brooke ). In the same year Porter completed an England tour alongside Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre in the formation of Martin Barre and Friends. In 2005 Porter left Six Degrees to build his own label, Weasel Records. The album Available Light, which was produced jointly with fellow musician Dave Adler, was released on this in 2006 . The acoustic guitar brand "Willy Porter Signature" was created from a collaboration with the guitar manufacturer Guild & Fender Guitars. How to Rob a Bank , which was completed in 2009, was followed by another live album in 2010, this time with a classic string facet. The 2012 EP Cheesburgers & Gasoline contains the cover version of Peter Gabriel's 20 year old hit Digging in the Dirt . For example, Human Kindness , which has been available as a download album since 2014, has a guest appearance by Martin Barre.

On February 8, 2014, 49-year-old Steve Kleiber was killed in an apartment fire. Porter and Calarco were looking for a way to keep their friend alive, albeit in a different way. For more than a year, through a variety of activities, they collected money for the foundation of a scholarship at the music college that Kleiber had once attended. Porter's social commitment also includes supporting a local facility for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse , a children's theater group and an organization that brings together children from the Middle East in the hope that they will have a say in the running of their countries.

Porter lives in Milwaukee , Wisconsin, is married to an environmental activist and has two children.

style

Willy Porter (2013)

Porter's style is described as a mix of Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Richard Thompson, and Lindsey Buckingham . On Dog Eared Dream still "airy melodies, delicate are folk - harmonies and subtle blues elements" to be heard. Rock and folk elements are more prominent on the album Willy Porter , which is to be reoriented because of the title, which is reminiscent of a debut album . The music critic Jeff Giles described the style as a virtuoso instrumental blues and pop . Comparisons with Leo Kottke, Adrian Legg and Michael Hedges are appropriate, but none of these artists is as trendy as Porter. Due to his "extraordinary fingerpicking technique", with which he combines blues, country and folk range from traditional to rock, Porter promises, says the all music biographer, to become a great in the Americana sector.

Lyrically, Dog Eared Dream is about AIDS , a failed relationship, an innocent rest stop romance , trucker romance ( Jesus on the Grille ) and a friend's alcohol problems (namely Kleiber, as it later showed). At Cheesburgers & Gasoline , topics such as life longings, self-fulfillment and building relationships on shaky surfaces are dealt with.

Discography

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Dog Eared Dream   DE 96 01/15/1996 (4 weeks)

• 1990: The Trees Have Soul (Album, Don't Records)
• 1994: Dog Eared Dream (Album, Southwind Records)
• 1995: Dog Eared Dream (new album, Private Music)
• 1995: Rita (3-track single with, among others, Angry Words , Private Music)
• 1999: Falling Forward (Album, Six Degrees Records)
• 2002: Willy Porter (Album, Six Degrees Records)
• 2003: High Wire Live (Live Album, Six Degrees Records)
• 2006: Available Light (Album, Weasel Records)
• 2009: How to Rob a Bank (Album, Weasel Records)
• 2010: The Mealies - Live at BoMA (Live-Album, Weasel Records)
• 2012: Cheesburgers & Gasoline (EP, Weasel Records)
• 2014: Willy P Holiday 3-Pack (Download EP)
• 2014: Human Kindness (download album)

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Richard Skelly: Willy Porter. Artist Biography by Richard Skelly. In: allmusic.com. Retrieved May 27, 2015 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Frank Goodman: Willy Porter. Puremusic Interview with Willy Porter. In: puremusic.com. P. 2 , accessed on May 27, 2015 (English). 
3. ^ ^{A b c} Frank Goodman: Willy Porter. Puremusic Interview with Willy Porter. In: puremusic.com. P. 3 , accessed on May 27, 2015 (English). 
4. ↑ The List: Willy Porter… 'The Odd Couple'… Zombie Music Fest… more. In: grandforksherald.com. September 30, 2010, accessed May 27, 2015 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i} Online Press Kit. Willy Porter Current Bio. In: willyporter.com. Weasel Records, January 2015, accessed on May 27, 2015 (English, publisher see PDF version). 
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Willy Porter. Singer-songwriter. (No longer available online.) In: notmuch.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2015 ; accessed on May 27, 2015 (English). 
7. ↑ ^{a b c d} BMG / Ariola Munich (ed.): Willy Porter . Munich November 1995 (laundry slip).
8. ^ [Gunter Matejka]: word of mouth for Willy Porter . In: MusikWoche . The news magazine for the music industry. No. 48/1995 , November 27, 1995, Szene, p. 13 .
9. ^ ^{A b} Piet Levy: Concert to Raise Money for Steve Kleiber Fund. In: jsonline.com. April 30, 2015, accessed May 27, 2015 . 
10. ^ Frank Goodman: Willy Porter. Puremusic Interview with Willy Porter. In: puremusic.com. P. 7 , accessed on May 27, 2015 (English). 
11. ↑ [Norbert Schiegl]: Relaxed songs about lost dreams . Willy Porter. In: MusikWoche . The news magazine for the music industry. No. 50/1995 , December 11, 1995, new items. Priorities, p. 20 .
12. ↑ ^{a b c} Jeff Giles: The Popdose Guide to Willy Porter. In: popdose.com. March 14, 2006, accessed May 27, 2015 . 
13. ↑ Chart sources: DE

Web links

• Willy Porter at Allmusic (English)
• Willy Porter at Discogs (English)